Tales of a Stitcher

Post navigation

Rasmuson Foundation Artist Residency Program

Thanks to the wonderful support of the Rasmuson Foundation, I will be traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina for a two month residency at the McColl Center for Visual Arts. My participation in this residency is part of a new program at the Rasmuson Foundation. This program pairs four Alaska artists with four outside art organizations, AND it pairs four outside artists with Alaska art organizations.

This past Friday and Saturday, all eight artists and representatives from all eight host sites convened together with the Rasmuson Foundation for a weekend long conversation about artist residencies, the importance of place, and creative ideas.

Daubert filled the Bunnell exhibition space with a visual calendar of her time in Homer by using fiber to fashion images about her stay. Michael Walsh, Artist in Residence Coordinator for the Bunnell, created a beautiful documentary of Daubert’s stay in Homer and the work that came out of it. I hope they post this on their website. It is totally worth watching.

The Anchorage Museum at the Rasmuson Center in Anchorage hosted Marek Ranis. Ranis is a visual artist who incorporates social, political, and ecological issues into his multimedia work. He is particularly interested in the impacts of global climate change on northern landscapes and cultures. His work from the residency will be part of the Anchorage Museum’s ongoing exploration of it means to be NORTH.

The Alaska Native Arts Center in Fairbanks hosted Marty Two Bulls Jr. Two Bulls is a working artist and curator based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. While in Fairbanks, Two Bulls created art, participated in open studio sessions, attended activities such as the Alaska Federation Natives convention as well as many other creative things.

The Island Institute in Sitka hosted Marjorie Gellhorn Sa’adah. Sa’adah is a New Hampshire based writer and teacher. Her particular focus is introducing teenagers to the power and practice of creative writing. While on the Island, she successfully started two teenage writing groups–one at Pacific High and one at Mt. Edgecumbe High School, the state boarding school for Alaska Natives, which culminated in a public reading. How cool is that? I really enjoyed getting to know Marjorie and her work which truly does focus on the healing powers of writing.

In the upcoming year, four Alaskan artists will travel outside to four different host sites across the country.

Zygote Press in Cleveland, Ohio will host Jimmy Riordan. Riordan is an artist who mediums range from book binding to performance, and from cartoons to installations. I got to spend some time with Jimmy and Liz Maugans, the co-founder and Executive Director of Zygote Press. I am pretty confident that something amazing is going to happen during that residency.

The Djerassi Resident Artist Program in Woodside, California will host Arlitia Jones an Anchorage based playwright. One of the big hi-lights of the weekend was seeing Jones’s play “Come to Me, Leopards” at Cyrano’s Theatre Company. It was AMAZING. The play ended yesterday, but I will be telling you more about Arlitia’s work in the upcoming months.

The McColl Center for Visual Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina will host me for September and October of 2014. Can you believe it? I will be making quilts as well as engaging with the community in all manner of stitching.

As the next year unfolds, I will be sharing more about what I will be doing there. I know it is going to be good. First I will start with a few photos fo the facility where I will be working. The McColl is located in an old cathedral.

And I should also say that one of my DAILY mantras is, “Thank you Rasmuson Foundation for supporting my work.”

We look forward to seeing you when you come, Maria! The McColl Center is named after the former Bank of America CEO, Hugh McColl who is a huge supporter of the arts. If I’m not mistaken, he owns a gallery downtown. Your creativity is a-m-a-z-i-n-g!